“Kathy Griffin: Whores on Crutches”
Tuesday 10pm, Bravo
I have argued in these very pages that comedian Kathy Griffin isn’t actually all that funny. What makes her awesome is that she’s a normal person who clawed her way into the bizarre bubble that is Hollywood, and she delights in reporting back to us with all the batshit crazy stuff that stars pull behind the cameras. Her stand-up specials are packed with such stories, like her ongoing feud with Barbara Walters, or when she crashed a dinner party attended by wacktress Sharon Stone. This special is hot off the presses, and even includes Griffin taking potshots at her onetime sexual rival (snerk) Bristol Palin’s current run on “Awkwardly Shifting with the Fame-Adjacent.”
“Matt Lauer Reports”
Monday 8pm, NBC
The right wing loves to pin all the shitty things going on in our country on the Obama Administration. Reality check: The prez hasn’t even been in office two years. It takes longer than that to bring a nation to its knees. Say, eight years, specifically 2001-2009, when our 43rd president, George W. Bush, ran America straight into the ground. Now, in our nation’s hour of need, Dubya is back to offer his sage guidance. Kidding! He has a new book to shill—the VIP copies cost $350! What bad economy?—and so for his first post-presidency interview he selected the noted glib journalist Matt Lauer. Wonder if the “Today” co-host will pitch his softballs over- or underhanded….
“Conan”
Sunday 10pm, TBS
Speaking of disasters that could have been avoided, NBC pissed off pretty much everyone this past January when it yanked Conan O’Brien, put in charge of “The Tonight Show” just months prior, and plopped Jay Leno’s unfunny ass back in the big chair after he tanked during primetime. Big mistake. Leno’s ratings have yet to recover, and O’Brien became a kind of hipster folk hero. Now Coco’s back, this time on TBS, which is trying to brand itself as a national comedy network. The new show will air Mondays through Thursdays, Andy Richter will be back as O’Brien’s second banana, and premiere-week guests include Tom Hanks, Seth Rogen, Jon Hamm and a first guest to be chosen by fans at TeamCoco.com. Options include Lady Gaga, Jack Nicholson, REO Speedwagon, the Sultan of Brunei, and Arlene Wagner, the curator of Washington’s Nutcracker Museum, who was outpacing The Pope at press time. Go Arlene!
